Ohio Kepro Motion August 2004

Whether your media outlet reaches Medicare
beneficiaries, their families or their caregivers,
healthcare is a dynamic and relevant issue for
readers, listeners and viewers. We invite you to
contact Ohio KePRO's media specialist at
(216) 447-9604 x2219 or via online media
inquir y at http://www.ohiokepro.com/publications/
mediainquiries.asp. to access professionals who
can address the healthcare information needs of
your audience from a qualified perspective. s

Medicare Minute: An Important
Message from Medicare

When you are admitted to a Medicare par ticipating
hospital, you will receive many forms to read. As
a Medicare beneficiar y, you will also receive a
notice called An Important Message From Medicare.

Ohio Hospitals Now
Voluntarily Reporting
Quality of Care Data
A

Hear t attack (Acute Myocardial
Infarction)
s Was aspirin given to the patient
  upon arrival at the hospital?
s Was aspirin prescribed when the
  patient was discharged?
s Was a beta-blocker given to the
  patient upon arrival at the hospital?
s Was a beta-blocker prescribed when
  the patient was discharged?
s Was an ACE inhibitor given to the
  patient with hear t failure?

ccording to Ohio KePRO and the
Ohio Hospital Association, almost
ever y eligible hospital in Ohio paid by
Medicare and Medicaid is now voluntarily
repor ting quality of care information to
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Ser vices (CMS). The voluntar y repor ting
is in conjunction with the national
Hospital Quality Initiative suppor ted by
CMS, an agency of the U.S. Depar tment
of Health and Human Ser vices that
runs Medicare.

Hear t failure
s Did the patient get an
  assessment of his or
  her hear t function?
s Was an ACE inhibitor
  given to the patient?

The national Hospital Quality
Initiative is bringing more
focus on clinical quality.
Many hospitals are working
actively to get hands-on
training and resources
from Ohio KePRO, the
Medicare Quality
Improvement Organization
in Ohio, to improve the
quality of care they provide.
Currently, 139 of 142
eligible hospitals are
focusing on improving care
by working with Ohio KePRO.

Pneumonia
s Was an antibiotic given
  to the patient in a
  timely way?
s Had the patient received
  a pneumococcal
  vaccination?
s Was the patient's oxygen
  level assessed?

This message tells you:

1. Your rights while you are a hospital patient.
2. What to do if you are being discharged from the
hospital before you feel well enough to go home.

Federal law requires the hospital to give you this
message. You or a family member should read it
carefully and ask for help if there is something
that you do not understand.

This message explains that you have the right to
call Ohio KePRO to request a review of your case
if you think you are not ready to be discharged
from the hospital. The message also includes
Ohio KePRO's address and toll-free Medicare
Beneficiar y Help Line number (1-800-589-7337)
and an explanation of how to obtain a review of
your case. s

"The voluntar y submission of quality
data signifies a commitment by Ohio's
hospitals to improve the quality of care
they provide," said Gayle Smith, CEO
of Ohio KePRO. "Hospitals are going
the extra mile by seeking out resources
and hands-on training to suppor t their
quality improvement effor ts."

The results of the quality data hospitals
are repor ting will give consumers
information about a hospital's perform-
ance in the treatment of three medical
conditions hear t attack, hear t failure
and pneumonia. The conditions can
result in hospital stays and are common
among people with Medicare. The
measures in each condition address
key aspects of appropriate care:

"Quality of care is a top priority for
Ohio hospitals," said Rosalie
Weakland of the Ohio Hospital
Association. "The hospital community
encourages patients to educate them-
selves through credible repor ts such
as the Quality Initiative. Patients
should also factor in referrals from
their physicians and recommendations
from family and friends when selecting
a hospital."

Guest Editorial/Op-Ed

By Alice Stollenwerk Petrulis, MD, FACP
Medical Director, Ohio KePRO

The summer season is here. School
vacations, travel plans, family reunions, and
other events keep people on the move as
the temperature rises. For tunately, during
this busy time of year, and no matter where
one travels in the U.S., help is available to
monitor the quality of care provided by
nursing homes and home health agencies
that are caring for loved ones in Ohio. And
resources exist to help make healthcare
decisions if such a need arises while you
are away from home.

Reliable and understandable data on the
quality of care in Ohio are available and can
help consumers ensure that family members
get good care, or can help them make
decisions about healthcare if nursing home
or home health care is needed. The
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Ser vices
(CMS), an agency of the U.S. Depar tment of
Health and Human Ser vices, makes quality
of care data available on the Internet at
www.medicare.gov. One can also get the
information by calling 1-800-MEDICARE
(1-800-633-4227). These tools are par t of a

National Quality Initiative that helps educate
consumers and encourages providers to
achieve the highest possible levels of care.

Accessing the quality data at www.medicare.gov
is an impor tant step in the healthcare
decision-making process and in monitoring
a loved one's care. Family members or friends
can also visit regularly, talk to healthcare
workers, and be aware of treatment plans.
Resources in the community can be an
asset as well; talk to family, friends, and
healthcare providers to get the best possible
information when making decisions for
yourself or for loved ones.

Since November 2002, Ohio KePRO, Ohio's
Medicare Quality Improvement Organization
(QIO), has been educating consumers on
the availability of quality of care data. Ohio
KePRO staff members offer nursing homes,
home health agencies and hospitals in Ohio
hands-on training and resources, free of
charge, to improve quality of care as par t
of the National Quality Initiative.

Ohio KePRO encourages Ohio residents
to contact CMS at 1-800-MEDICARE
(1-800-633-4227) with questions or concerns
about healthcare quality. And we urge
healthcare providers doctors, nursing
homes, home health agencies and hospitals
to take advantage of Ohio KePRO's skilled
quality improvement resources.

The National Quality Initiative is designed to
help shed light on good healthcare quality
by educating consumers and healthcare
professionals alike. At Ohio KePRO, we can
think of no better mission than to help raise
the quality of healthcare to the highest
achievable standards. s

Quality of Care Data (cont.)

but some specialty hospitals, such as
children's hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals,
and critical access hospitals usually located
in rural areas are not eligible.

The 10 quality measures have gone through
years of extensive testing for validity and
reliability by CMS and QIOs, the Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations (JCAHO), and researchers.
The National Quality Forum (NQF), a voluntar y
standard-setting, consensus-building
organization representing providers,
consumers, purchasers, and researchers,
has endorsed these measures.

The national Hospital Quality Initiative is par t
of an overall CMS effort to improve the quality
of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries
and to inform consumers through public
repor ting of quality information. Beginning
in early 2005, the hospital quality data will
be available on a consumer Web site,
Hospital Compare, at www.medicare.gov, or
by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
Currently, CMS publishes quality information
on www.medicare.gov for Ohio's Medicare
and Medicaid-cer tified nursing homes and
Medicare-cer tified home health agencies. s

Executive Editor : Suzana C. Iveljic, MBA

Editor : Daniel B. Moss, BSBA

e-mail: dmoss@ohqio.sdps.org

T H E A U G U S T E D I T I O N O F O H I O Ke P RO M O T I O N H A S A R R I V E D !
Your News Source for Health & Rights Information for Ohio's Medicare Beneficiaries

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Publication No. 4123-OH-009-8/2004. This material was prepared by Ohio KePRO under a contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Ser vices (CMS),
an agency of the U.S. Depar tment of Health and Human Ser vices (DHHS). The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. For more information,
please call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), or visit the CMS Web site at www.medicare.gov.